


A Kiss Before Dying

by SushiTheTurtle



Category: Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, 少女☆歌劇 レヴュースタァライト -Re LIVE- | Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight -Re LIVE- (Video Game), 少女☆歌劇 レヴュー・スタァライト | Shoujo Kageki Revue Starlight (Anime)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Domestic Fluff, Drama & Romance, Elder Scrolls V, F/F, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Hurt/Comfort, Maya Needs A Hug, Romance, Romantic Fluff, SkyrimAU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-14
Updated: 2020-08-12
Packaged: 2021-03-04 19:34:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25271719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SushiTheTurtle/pseuds/SushiTheTurtle
Summary: In the 4th era, a few years after the Dragonborn had slain Alduin, Claudine the owner of the Bee and Barb in Riften the city of thieves crosses paths with Maya a highly skilled assassin who was banished from Cyrodiil for her ties with the Dark Brotherhood.
Relationships: Saijou Claudine & Tendou Maya, Saijou Claudine/Tendou Maya
Comments: 4
Kudos: 30





	1. Tricky

**Author's Note:**

> If you're new to Skyrim, there are some informative links at the end notes for some stuff that may need explanation!  
> I should also note that The Elder Scrolls:V Skyrim is an ARPG made in 2012 by Bethesda Studios , it's a really fun game I highly recc.  
> This fanfiction started as a role-play between me and @mejlfuu on Instagram or @mejlfuu on twitter ( she makes really great art 100/10) , and it might be a bit messy as a result. We both tried our best to switch it to a full 3rd Person POV and cleaned it up the best we could.
> 
> If you like having music to go along with your reading , we have a playlist set up here https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpKy-SMxzFpV5jZeSBWy_561bjjNAXqQ3 
> 
> Most of the chapters will be named after some of the songs in the playlist.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Words In This Chapter - 3191

The door of the Bee and Barb was roughly pushed open, a nord woman dressed in a mix of nordic carved armour and average clothes stepped inside. Instead of wearing a helmet as lots of the people of Skyrim did, she donned a dark battered hood connected to a shawl that only reached her shoulders . A bandolier crossed down from her left shoulder to her right hip where there also rested a belt that was decked out with sheaths for daggers and a few small potions. The nord, unlike her rough and quite frankly disruptive entrance, quietly made her way to an empty table that sat in a more secluded corner of the tavern. It was early morning on a turdaas and reaching the end of morning star, the tavern was rather empty since people tended to visit in the late hours of the night instead to drink away their consciousness.  
She had just the night before finished a contract on a dunmer male, the reasons behind the contract were just because a Man who lived in and around Windhelm didn't like the guy. He ‘apparently’ was learning magic at the college to ‘take his wife’ and thus deemed it necessary to get the Dark Brotherhood involved. The Dunmer had taken a trip to Riften to visit family and on the way there met an unfortunate and permanent halt to his plans.  
Maya, who had finally settled into her seat, pulled her hood down and removed her gauntlets laying them down off to the side of the table. The removal of her hood revealed both a long scar that stretched down from the Nords left brow to her cheek, and also just how ungodly tired Maya looked. Clearly not having interest in getting up and walking to the counter Maya tapped her finger on the wooden surface of the table as she eyed the tavern owner waiting for the girl to hopefully come over and serve her despite her evident laziness.  
~  
Standing at the counter of a tavern in a city like Riften was definitely not what Claudine thought she would be doing as a child. A girl of her high standing with a proud and rich family in Solitude should not be wearing the rather tight and unkindly tavern clothes she was. She should be living life to a full, wearing only the finest skyrim had to offer. But , alas, she had decided rather than take under her parents she should just open a place of her own and so the ‘Bee and Barb’ was born.  
Well more like bought out but close enough.  
She shook her head, realizing how caught up in thought she was. She had a job to do, and needed to do the best she could do. Though, she supposed doing the best she could was hard when there was almost no one in sight.  
It was as if the gods had read her mind for the door was abruptly opened and in came the only woman who actually made her turn her head to the door upon their entrance. . She watched with questioning eyes as the woman walked towards the back, sitting down. Looking down for a moment she hummed and upon looking up again was only greeted with the darkened and tired eyes of the nord staring back at her.She would have made her walk over to the tavern counter herself if it wasn’t for the fact Claudine was so intrigued by her. With her head held high, she headed towards the darkened corner of the tavern. For an odd reason a small pit of anxiousness hit her stomach but she tried to play it off. Meeting eyes with Maya this close truly showed the dark bags under her eyes. It almost looked like she hadn't slept in weeks.  
" Ah, mon étoile , you seem exhausted.” she said , a small smile forming.” Though it couldn't have killed you to come to me at the counter.” she teased the nord , hands placed on her hips now. “ Were you on some sort of life changing adventure darling?”  
Maya took a quick moment to subtly look over the girls face, though Riften was known to be one of the least friendly places in Skyrim she still found herself taken back just a little by Claudine's words. A smirk quickly formed on Maya’s face and the nord leaned a little forwards with her elbows rested on the table “Perhaps it wouldn’t of after all, excuse my bluntness but you’re pretty attractive” she complimented shamelessly “I suppose, if coming to Riften is what you’d consider life changing. But I am talking to you, so perhaps it is after all” her somewhat awful flirting continued.  
Claudine became a bit of a flustered mess in response. "Damn right i'm ‘pretty attractive’, and you made moi come all the way over here. “ she huffed “And yes, I would like to say meeting me is certainly life changing. " Though she tried to sound confident it didn't help the slight red hue in her cheeks though and she was almost certain it was obvious that just those few words got her up in a tangent. Maya leaned back in her seat arms crossing over her chest  
“How much for a room and whatever’s the best thing you’ve got that’ll keep me awake for the next 19 hours” she flashed a forced smile then turned her attention to one of the many pockets and pouches on her bandolier which she pulled out a handful of folded papers from and began reading.  
Claudine stood up a little taller now, taking in the fact that she was asked to supply enough caffeine or maybe even alcohol to keep her up for 19 hours. "If you are staying awake , what's the point of renting the room? You should really try to get some sleep you know." Even as pushy as she got, she had seemed to already have formed a soft spot for the girl and needed to make sure she was up to her standards of health.  
The Nord looked up from her papers eyes once again meeting Claudine's own, she lowered the papers which she placed face down on the wooden surface of the table and again leaned forwards now with an arm laid across the papers another smile apparent on her face “I get the room for the day correct? “ Claudine nodded at this. “It’s five in the morning and I’ll be staying in Riften for the night, so I will need somewhere to stay. Unless this is a scheme to get me into your bed, I’ll be needing a room”  
"Sacré Dieu! “ Claudine cried.”You shouldn't say those kinds of things with a lady like me! And I thought your flirting was bad..." She mumbled and her hand slowly traveled to her hair . She started to gently tug on it in nervousness more than anything.  
Maya sat back in her seat chuckling “and yet the bad flirting appears to be working” tapping a finger on the papers that rested on the table's wooden surface, she explained her predicament. “I have some work here in the Rift and I unfortunately don’t have the time to sleep the day away, I’ve sadly gotta leave by tomorrow morning.” Maya returned to her work, the papers she read over were of course contracts lined with information on those unfortunate enough to have bounties over their heads. As much as she had hoped there was more work in the Rift there was only the one job, perhaps it was time she took some sort of break from her brotherhood duties and spent more time than necessary in Riften.  
" I would ask but it would appear you're trying to purposely hide those papers from me. I don’t truly have a right to be snooping in your business. " she regained her tall posture again and nodded " Alright, then, i'll get you whatever you need for your adventures. I'm guessing you'd want something strong, maybe something from the small towns around here... they go hard on their coffee... any cream or sugar?"  
Maya had tensed at the mention of the papers which she tried to laugh it off but her discomfort was obvious “ah,, sugar please, but can you just uh leave it on the table? I find it’s easier to just add in myself” Maya looked up to smile at Claudine; she took that moment then to fold and return the contracts to one of her pouches.  
" I suppose I can do that for you..oh and the cost, don't worry about it. I think I would feel guilty if i made you pay after the strenuous hours you are going to face."  
“The strenuous hours pay off, it's nothing to me I swear” she replied with a smile.  
Having brewed the same coffees time and time again Claudine went to work. It had only taken just a few minutes to get everything done, even including a small drink for herself and she was back, ready to serve. After making the coffee she grabbed the sugar and placed it right in front of Maya, who eagerly began adding spoonful after spoonful of sugar to her coffee almost to the point of it being concerning to her health. With a mountain of sugar in her coffee she gave the drink time to cool by pulling out a pouch that jingled with the sound of coin, a lot of coin, which was pushed Claudine's way. Claudine had no way to respond to the absurd amount of sugar the woman in front of her was pouring into her coffee that was followed by the bag of coin. With eyebrows raised and eyes staring she slowly sipped at her coffee, standing as if someone would barge in and order hundreds of sweet rolls.  
“You know for being the owner of a tavern I'd thought to know your name by now” Maya leaned on her elbows “care to tell me?” she nodded her head towards the empty seat opposite of her at the table “and while you’re at it have a seat, i’m sure you’ve got the time to talk”  
" I might have time to talk.” she replied “I can't just give you my name , now can I? Where's the fun in that. Besides with my family's name i'm surprised you haven't heard it just offhand. " she eyed the seat in front of Maya, before finally deciding she didn’t have much else to do, and sat down.  
“Perhaps I have, I learn of many people and their names through my work. Though I do wish you’d tell me, it would be quite a shame not knowing the name of the person who's been a blushing mess when speaking to me for the past couple of minutes” She finally took a sip of her what most would deem heart attack inducing coffee.

"On the contrary, Madame, I assure you that this isn’t necessary.." she attempted to push the septims back. She placed the coffee down and elbows came to the table, propping her head on her hands. “I can assure that was not blushing, I have zero idea what you could be talking about." She puffed her cheeks just a little, but in trying to let her guard down she finally uttered her name "I'm Claudine Saijo. Solitude is where my home is but I suppose Riften is my home now...there is a horrible amount of stealing that goes on in this city though, no shock, but gods the guards don’t do anything and I don’t think they ever will." she shrugged. Maya being quick to respond just pushed the septims back across the tables surface an insistent look on her face “and yet I say it is, how could I accept not to pay you’ve been kinder than most so far and are beautiful on top of it all.” with the septims hopefully now dealt with Maya simply hummed in response to how Claudine 'wasn't blushing’ .  
“If you keep up that flirt-talk I won't hesitate to hit you. And I’ll hit you for not taking these damn coins back." She crossed her arms, shoving the bag to the other side of the table again. Of course by all means she wouldn't hurt Maya even if it meant that she would have to go under such torment as this. She huffed in defeat taking back the septims, regardless she’d just leave them on the counter before she left the next morning anyways that way there’d be no choice other than to accept payment. “Ouch, and here I thought I was getting somewhere with the ‘flirt-talk’, guess you’re not that kind after all.” Maya spoke with feigned sadness in her words a played up hurt look on her face. She took another sip from the coffee, finding it was already bringing back the energy that she so desperately needed.  
“You said Saijo right... ? Well now I would’ve never guessed that, can’t say i’ve heard the best things about your family but then again I only ever hear what people want me to” she paused taking another sip from the coffee before she continued “Maya Tendou, my family is rather popular in Cyrodiil but because of their distaste for my work, they’d like the world to think I died serving the king as to not ruin the family name.” regardless of the subject and its context that cocky smile of hers remained throughout her explanation. “You mentioned an issue with thieves earlier. Living where the thieves guild originates will do that, you know if you ever needed help these daggers aren’t just for show.” the nords words carried an almost eerie feeling with them as if dealing with others in a potentially violent way wasn’t anything new to her.  
"Good things, bad things, my family’s supportive but they're into insider trading, you know, like real capital folk." She snorted. She could never say she hated her family, they were kind, but she certainly did not agree with their ideals, not with the way her father always taught her that she must remain ladylike and that a woman of her stature could never own a tavern for dirtying her hands with such a job was below her. She sighed for a moment, thinking about something before coming to, Maya’s name ringing in her ear like a sweet bell. “Tendou Maya hm.. your job mustn't be that awful, though most jobs that aren't the parents job seem deemable for disownment now in days but..are you implying you would simply threaten someone for me if they dare try to take something?" She raised her eyebrows “and how do I try to prove it you're bluffing or not?”  
“My parents and many others for that matter would warn you to keep your distance, and they wouldn’t be entirely wrong in doing so.” she downed what remained of the coffee and stood up removing a dagger from its sheath on her belt spinning the blade around playfully in her hand  
" Well, i think it's a little bit too late to stay away now Tendou Maya, and besides i always love a good challenge if people are saying to stay away then why not stay closer." Claudine hummed.  
“On another note, I assure you I don’t ‘bluff’. And it’s something I'd much rather not have to prove.” she tossed the small blade into the air and caught it by the handle, a smile aimed Claudine's way. With a quick flick of the wrist the blade flew through the air and lodged itself into the wood of Claudine's chair just beside the girls neck “So I hope that’ll satisfy, I’ll be back for that dagger tonight I expect you to keep it safe from your thieves else I might aim for something else.” With that Maya made her way to the door of the Bee and Barb pausing to look back at Claudine, her body leaned against the doorway and arms crossed at her chest “By the way I forgot to ask, if you’re not busy tonight what do you say to having drinks?”  
Claudine wasn't exactly prepared for what Maya had done next as she was quick (and careful for that matter) to remove herself from the chair and stand still, not being sure what to make of the situation. " Merde…” was the first word she could come up with. “ You could have done that with a little more taste and elegance don’t you think?" she crossed her arms, now looking away from the woman. “I’m around drinks all the time, is that really the best option for a first date? Has that always worked for you?”  
Maya’s cheeks warmed as a slight pinkish tint coloured her face from embarrassment. She’d never really been challenged on this type of thing, drinks did always work. She brought a hand up to her neck out of nervousness, she tended to flirt with most girls, and the few she was actually interested in would quickly accept a date no matter how dull. Maya didn’t necessarily believe in love at first sight but she wouldn’t deny Claudine was attractive and she found herself more than intrigued by this little challenge, maybe there was a chance for something more. “Skyrim doesn’t particularly offer much in terms of dates I...I’m heading out to Falkreath tomorrow morning if you’ve never been that far out of the Rift it could be a fairly nice trip and the tavern owner there probably only wants to give me a black eye..” Maya did her best to give Claudine a convincing smile “I’ll need to know by tonight if you’d like to come along for that though, after all I leave tomorrow morning”  
Claudine blinked, not expecting to get a response back at all let alone a decent date after the harsh criticism she dished out. She didn't know if she was extremely proud of herself or if she should hit herself for being so quick to possibly accept a date from a woman she’d just met.  
" I uhm..." She was lucky that almost no one was at the tavern at the moment, if they saw her defenses drop so quickly her hard yet graceful approach to people's perceptions of her would be ruined. " If I really... uhm no i don't think I've ever been out that far and.." she looked down at her hands , all sense of pride falling away now. " Just-give me ‘till tonight and I will give you an answer. This better not be happening just because you want to get into my bed!" She had to make a recovery to the situation somehow.  
Feeling more confident now Maya nodded a genuine, bright smile on her face "Well i'd better make sure I don't get jumped by a pack of wolves on my way then, I'll see you again tonight Saijo" she turned and head towards the door opening it slightly "and I assure you I have only good intentions, I won't complain though if I do score that big." with that Maya left not giving Claudine the opportunity to respond.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Info on some important Skyrim stuff:  
> https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Calendar  
> https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rift_(Skyrim)


	2. Get Away

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Don't forget to follow @mejlfuu on Twitter and Instagram for that sweet sweet art O O  
> This chapter is titled after Get Away by Fitz and The Tantrums  
> Another link to the playlist - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLpKy-SMxzFpV5jZeSBWy_561bjjNAXqQ3  
> Words In This Chapter - 5248

The veil of night had settled over Skyrim, and the Bee and Barb being one of the more popular taverns in the land was bustling with activity. After all, Riften's citizens needed some way to forget about the town they resided. Much like her initial entrance Maya threw open the wooden doors of the tavern, slamming it loudly into the walls with a thud. Her rather noisy entrance quieted down the drunken chatter and she felt dozens of the patrons eyes lock onto her. It made her suddenly grateful for the fact she had her hood up. She took a few steps inside and closed the door behind her much softer than she’d opened it and took a moment to look over the people who occupied the tables. Under normal circumstances, she'd scurry away to her rented room not being a huge fan of the busy and crowded environment that these places attracted, especially when the attention of the room was on her. Keeping her head low Maya swiftly made her way to the counter at some point snatching a stool out from under an imperial who fell to the ground and cursed loudly in her direction. She placed the stool up at the front of the counter and once the room of drunkards had gotten back to their drinks she finally removed the hood that had been masking her face behind a shadow. Earlier Maya was just in drastic need of some proper rest, but now along with the darkness that settled under her eyes from the neglect of actual sleep bruises decorated the right side of her face with purples and reds, a black eye forming just under her brow. Maya was skilled in her line of work however it didn’t always mean she came out unscathed, her contract had been an Orc because of course it had to be when she had just earlier scored herself a date. Orc’s weren’t her favourite thing to kill, they tended to be stronger than her leading to a less than smooth assassination.

Claudine on the other hand was everywhere. She had been jumping from table to table trying to dodge the grabs of the drunk men who would try to pull on her and serve the many customers in her tavern. For being the smallest of the cities there sure was a whole lot of people. If it wasn't bad for business she would have snapped at one of the men. The loud bang of the door barely broke her concentration until it had started to get almost too quiet in the tavern. She looked towards where everyone else starred and huffed, just a tad mad that her wall might have a door imprint in it. Deciding she had had enough of the touchy men she was catering to. she headed to the counter, the same place Maya now sat. She now stood right in front of her. " Welcome b-” she paused, gasping. “By the nine divines! Fought some thieves or somethin' have we?"  
Maya’s eyes caught Claudine’s and almost immediately her expression lightened up, she chuckled, shaking her head “I’m hurt you’d think so low of me, would I really get this banged up by a couple of lousy thieves.” she replied, and moved on to correct the woman in front of her. “It was an Orc, lets just say we didn’t quite see eye to eye.” She wasn’t completely lying, after all who would agree with an assassin sent by the Dark Brotherhood to kill them? “Well then... I see you’re much busier than earlier, and I’d hate to keep you distracted from your...” Maya turned to take a quick look at the many drunken customers scattered about the tavern “wonderful patrons, so I suppose I'll take whatever mead you’d recommend, preferably cold.”  
Claudine winced, the idea of being murked by an Orc seemingly affecting her. "Well I had assumed maybe those damn thieves guild fools sent some nimrods out after you, you seemed the type to get them all rilled' up.'' she looked around the room with Maya and shrugged ''These perverts could never distract me. All I do is shoo them and they just keep coming back and most only want to be here to stare.” she huffed.  
“Mmm..” Maya hummed “Perhaps your lovely perverted customers are in need some sense knocked into them” She had replied calmly.  
The blonde waved her off "You don’t need to worry too much about me," Claudine crossed her arms around her chest "I can knock half these guys on their ass, trust me. I've done it once and I'll do it again." she shook her head “But, you still need that cold mead.. I'll be right back." she practically surfed through her fellow workers just to get behind them and into the storage room to retrieve what she needed. A few moments had passed before she had come back, placing the mead on the table. " Of course, on the house... And by the way," she leaned towards Maya. " About that offer earlier... i think i might just accept, but it better be a good date Tendou. I don’t go on dates with just anyone in Skyrim, just what kind of woman would I be then?"  
Maya had been eagerly waiting for her mead and once the glass bottle was in front of her she shook her head and sighed “I hope you haven’t made this ‘on the house’ thing a habit, i’m not broke” she’d went to pick the bottle up but was soon after fumbling clumsily with the glass not exactly prepared for her date offer from before being accepted. She laughed nervously placing the bottle of mead back down on the counters wooden surface and met eyes with Claudine. Suddenly the fact the girl was leaning towards her made the air quite suffocating “Ah...” she paused taking a moment to gather her thoughts “You know, with how you’d reacted earlier I can’t say I expected you to actually accept.” Maya smiled albeit a bit nervously and took a drink from the bottle that she now held to like it was her life line “I’m glad though, I’ll be absolutely sure to make it worth your while then Saijo. Think you can be up early tomorrow?”  
Hoping the other workers could handle the workload without her for a few moments, she sat down in front of Maya. "Not to stroke the ego you have but I guess maybe I thought you were different then the rest of these fools." She watched as Maya fumbled helplessly on the bottle, making her laugh although it was quiet. ”I can definitely be up early tomorrow, I mean I'm up early almost everyday anyway. Must I say though, you had no right to call me a mess earlier today when you cant even hold your mead! Flustered much?"  
Maya chuckled lightly, placing the mead off to the side as she leaned forwards on her elbows, her eyes catching Claudine’s “Perhaps but at least I can still form sentences. I’m quite excited though, happy in fact" she admits and brings the bottle of mead up to the side of her face she sighed as the icey outside of the bottle cools the throbbing pain in her face "Oh? Ego? as if this bunch of drunkards are anywhere close to being competition for me!” She laughs at just the thought of it and continues “Regardless, I hope to live up to your expectations Claudine I'd hate to disappoint you."  
"Well you haven't tried to grope me or assault me in anyway so I'd have to say you are definitely better than half of the people in this tavern, a pretty easy expectation to meet if your a decent living person but..." she shrugged " By the way, just how far is falkreath from here? I never really left this place or Solitude... I do kinda need to find some cover up for my tavern unless I truly want the thieves guild to take everything I own..." she groaned, the idea of having to restock the tavern after a robbery somewhat mentally killing her.  
Maya had scoffed in response to Claudine’s words “and to think you’d still compare me with even half of these people” Maya grumbles, her pride feeling just a little hurt by the other girl's statement.  
She hummed, tapping her fingers on the table. "I don't know, there could be some competition with some real nice people in this tavern Miss Tendou." of course she was joking, there was barely a soul in Riften that she could ever have this kind of instant chemistry with.  
“Ah, Falkreath, It’s about a days long trip but i’ll need to stay an extra two days in town if that’s alright with you, so four total including getting there and coming back”  
"Well I'm not complaining about that, I don't know if i can actually remember the last time I left Riften for time for myself.." she took a moment to reflect on that before shaking her head. "Either way, I suppose I should pack then, I don't exactly have the most amount of time on my hands..”

“Go ahead, but I think i’ll stay and finish my drink first.” Maya responded propping her chin up on her hand “I’d invite you to join me but you were rather rude to me earlier.” 

Claudine jokingly scoffed, standing up. She gave a slight bow to the girl and with a smile now she said “I’ll just have to take my leave then, I better be seeing you tomorrow, Miss Tendou.” she gave a small wave and off she was, serving the last of the patrons that entered the tavern.  
—  
Claudine was quick to close up her tavern that night, excitement and adrenaline flowing through her veins. Just the sole thought of getting out of Riften for even a day was getting her blood pumping. She was more than ready to pack as well but for some odd reason she was struggling. The clothes she had owned just didn't seem to fit how she wanted to look for Maya. She didn’t worry quite like this before with any of the other possible suitors she’s been with. She groaned, realizing that it was starting to get late and she had to be up in 5 hours. She essentially just decided on regular outing clothes that she was sure could easily walk in the wilderness with if needed.  
She had barely even gotten a wink of sleep when it came to it being time to meet up with Maya and leave. The combination of ecstatic happiness and extreme worry not allowing even a small nap. Still she had aimed to look refreshed and energized. Walking out from her room that she kept for herself in the inn part of her establishment she peeped at all of the tables hoping Maya would already be sitting at one of the tables. Finding she wasn't, she decided she'd pick her own table and while she was at it she might as well make herself a cup of tea.

Similarly to Claudine, Maya hadn't gotten that much sleep that night however instead of from excitement it was from pure stress. Having a job that involved taking people's lives as if such a thing were worth merely coin, and taking someone on a date was as Maya discovered stress inducing. She sat miserably in her room for three hours mulling in her thoughts before finally getting some much needed sleep. She had woken up a little later than planned, almost as if the universe were punishing her, and so out of a panic Maya scrambled down the tavern's stairs, managing to stumble a whole three times in the process. If Maya bolting down the stairs wasn’t telling enough that she had rushed things that morning then her clothing sure gave it away her shirt hung open around the collar having not been closed up completely revealing just enough skin to be rather distracting. The moment Maya caught sight of Claudine she visibly relaxed “Thank the gods.” Maya groans and in a couple of steps makes her way over to the table taking a seat across from Claudine and quickly burying her face in her hands “I’m sorry this isn’t a great start now then is it? I feared you may have changed your mind because I slept in for so long” she grumbled miserably through her hands.  
She turned to face the voice that echoed in the room. A small smirk formed on her face as she started to speak," To think someone who app- Mon bleu! Your top!" as Maya sat the smirk left her face and her cheeks were quick to flush, she turned away from the girl. Clearing her throat she tried to continue, pretending to never have said anything about the top. “And here I was thinking you would be more than early to our date.” she tried in any way she could to save face.  
Maya lifted her head raising an eyebrow curiously at Claudine, it took a few seconds for Maya to finally piece together the girl's reaction and her initial comment to realize what was up. She cleared her throat and quickly sought to fixing her appearance mumbling nervously as she did so ”My apologies, I don’t think I was thinking very clearly” She explained awkwardly her posture becoming rather stiff and uncomfortable.

Claudine waved it off "There didn't have to be such a rush, I was just pulling your chain about being early. I just assumed that I came down too early and misheard what time you wanted us to be up, albeit i didn't exactly sleep much..." she trailed off and was quick to dismiss the lack of sleep she had gotten. The mention of Claudine's lack of sleep left Maya feeling a bit uncomfortable and a frown graced her face but she'd address that later. After all a day long horse ride was bound to put people to sleep, especially when they’d be sharing a horse meaning Claudine would have every chance to sleep on their lengthy trip.  
The light haired girl cleared her throat, again, pushing a cup to Maya "Tea?"  
Maya adjusted herself in the seat before she gratefully took the cup from the blonde with a smile “Yes, thank you.” Maya takes a drink immediately feeling a bit better afterwards, a thought crosses her mind then her face lighting up just a bit “Ah, do you by chance make sweet rolls?” she asked her words coming out rather eagerly.  
Taking a quick sip herself, Claudine raised her eyebrow. "I.. yes but you'd have to wait for a moment. I'm not just gonna serve you any old sweet roll, I don't think that'd make a good impression on me..”  
Maya was about to protest against making new sweet rolls but upon the mention of leaving a good impression decided against it "very well, my expectations will be quite high though" she replied.  
”Just let me know if I'm taking too long. " she got up and disappeared, quick to work. Years of experience and orders had made her into a master of baking, so she thought.  
—  
It had only been maybe 15 minutes and she was out with a fresh sweetroll, a triumphant smile on her face. "I hope you're ready for Claudine's pâtisserie célèbre!" She gleamed, placing it in front of Maya before taking her seat, ecstatic to see the woman's reaction.  
Upon Claudine's return with a sweet roll in hand Maya's eyes lit up in excitement. As most taverns she frequented had suspicions of her, it was uncommon for her to get her hands on a sweetroll let alone have someone bake her one fresh. She chuckled lightly at the presentation Claudine gave and gratefully accepted the plate giving the other girl a bright smile and a thank you before digging in, within just the first bite Maya’s eyes were gleaming. She happily finished the pastry, taking time to savour the treat that Claudine had made just for her, her expression remaining bright throughout. She looked at Claudine, her expression drowning in affection aimed the blondes way. The plate was pushed towards her as Maya began voicing her thoughts "I have to give it to you Claudine, you’ve crushed my expectations" she spoke her tone overwhelmingly warm and soft “You may have just won over my heart.” Of course she was only joking however she’d be lying if she were to say she wasn’t just a little bit serious. “I’d like another, if it’s no trouble of course.”  
Claudine simply just watched, utterly amazed at how the woman in front of her ate the sweet roll. She hadn't even seen men high off skooma or drunk off of her hardest mead eat her baked goods the way Maya did. It was almost like she hadn’t eaten in months, the sweet roll was just gone that fast. She was so dazed that she almost completely missed what Maya said but by the divines she heard it her face went aflame, eyes darting to the side " I- uhm..." she wished she could gather the courage to say what she wanted but alas it failed her. She didn’t think something as simple as a sweet roll could win over someone's heart, and it was more of a moment of awe then shock.  
Knowing she wasn’t going to be able to form any words for the sheer amount of amazement she was in, she ended up sliding right out of the chair, going in the back again, hoping she could take the breather she needed. After giving herself a few small moments, she came out with not just one but two sweet rolls, setting one up to Maya and the other towards the middle of the table.  
Maya waited patiently for Claudine's return. After all, the girl clearly was only half there when she’d left, so it wasn’t that shocking she didn’t return for a couple of minutes. Once again with the blondes return Maya’s face lit up more so than before when she caught sight of two sweet rolls  
"I.. um..I made a batch earlier and thought maybe you’d like a couple, so you could take one along with us in the case well.. I’m glad I made more than one, they could be sold for sure but you seem to enjoy them enough where I'm sure you’d eat them just on the road." she cleared her throat, sitting down and leaning back in her chair, after having time to cool she felt like she could bolster herself up "I knew I was a good baker but dieu, I don't think I've seen anyone enjoy my sweet rolls as much as you do, you must of had a lot of stale sweet rolls in your life, that or I really am just the best baker around." she feigned a smirk, trying to gain back any of the confidence she had built up for herself.  
With a big dumb smile on her face Maya again gladly took the sweet roll that was presented to her “I think you might be spoiling me now” she said teasingly.  
With the second sweetroll being finished Maya reluctantly stood up if it were up to her she’d request some more but time was precious and Claudine probably couldn't handle anymore of Maya’s surprises for now “Well then, I’ll have you know that not even in the Imperial City have I had a sweetroll as good as yours.”  
"I could probably make a career with just my sweet rolls in the Imperial city if that's the case… but work is hard to find in Skyrim these days unless you have an in with someone or you're a farmer. “ she hummed for a moment “I've always wanted to help the people here in Riften though, the Imperial CIty would be no home to me. ''she shook her head, deciding not to get into that any further.  
Maya hums thoughtfully “The people of Riften are quite lucky to have you then.” She says making her way back over to the stairs “I’ll go get my things, okay?”  
" I'll be down here. My stuff is right over there so.." she pointed to one of the counters.  
Maya nodded before heading upstairs leaving Claudine with her thoughts.  
While Maya packed up her things she would do the dishes and set up a small planner for the bar maiden who would take care of the place. After all of this she had waited for Maya at the door, a nervous calm flowing over her, mostly at the idea that in just a few days she'd be in a new city with new people and different shops.  
—  
It hadn’t taken Maya long and in just a few minutes she was down the stairs heading over to where Claudine waited for her, still bare of her armor which she somehow managed to squeeze into a medium sized pack that hung off her shoulder. She was however now wearing her bandolier and was armed with her daggers which rested on either of her hips.  
"I hope you don't mind sharing a horse, of course if it is an issue you can always walk, I don't mind." Maya gave the girl a teasing smirk before pushing past her and opening the door leading the way to the Riften gates and out to the stables, where a dark grey horse with a black mane and tail was tied up. Her pace slowed as she approached the horse giving the animal a few light pats on the side of the face before she removed the bag from her shoulder and tied it securely to the side of the saddle.  
Claudine had followed Maya out of the city her own bags in hand, faking a look of disdain as they reached the stables together, "I would GLADLY steal your horse and dash off with it if you even dare dream of seeing me walk that far.” she huffed, ”If you were to report the fact I took your horse, I would personally have my father settle it and get you taken by the guards. You did leave a poor little damsel in distress after all." She came to a stop next to Maya, not even noticing that her small comment was turning into a form of a rant “I also believe that would be one of the worse dates I would've ever been on in my life, having someone trying to court me only to call the guards on me...and then having said person get taken away by the guards themselves.”  
Maya leaned her weight against the horse, a slight smile pulling at her lips, waiting patiently for the small rant to come to an end. Claudine clicked her tongue signalling she was finished and started placing her various bags on the horse, visibly a bit disheveled over mounting the animal. After a few moments of silence she said “If you have yet to notice, I haven't exactly rode on a horse in a while not since... gods maybe when i first came to Riften? I've usually just taken the carts and such that men drive..."  
“I guess you’d be stealing my horse then” Maya chuckles “I’d hate to put you through such a dreadful date, though it wouldn’t be my best either being put behind bars for my own horse being stolen.” She led the horse out of the stall slowly “Come on over then, I'll help you up first." She moves aside from the animal and gestures towards the saddle as Claudine approaches “It’s easy, just put your foot here in the stirrup” She taps the stirrup with her foot and as Claudine does as told Maya comes up from behind. Her hands come to rest at the girl’s waist and in a quick second Claudine is lifted up onto the saddle “See, you’ll survive” Maya says before mounting the horse herself in front of Claudine and takes the reins into her hands “you’d best hold on to something.”  
The first thing Claudine could even remotely hold onto was Maya's waist, which her arms clung to tightly. "I do inquire to know if this was your plan all along, having me wrap my arms around you like this." She mumbled, her cheeks gently dusted with a pink as she laid her head on Maya’s back "Just...don't go too fast, I don't want to risk falling off to be frank.”  
“It wasn’t my plan but I won’t lie to you, it is quite nice” Maya says chuckling, her hands pull at the reins and the horse starts moving. With a steady pace not much faster than if someone were walking, the horse starts down the main road. She’d keep the slow trot, for now at least. “Come now you can't seriously expect us to get to Falkreath in a day without going ‘too fast’, trust me you’ll be fine. I wouldn’t let you fall off.” Maya says and then without warning she cracked the reins and in that single second the horse lurched forwards racing down the main road “We should arrive by midnight going this speed, so you’d best get used to it as I don’t plan on slowing down!”  
"Miss TENDOU I won't even be ALIVE BY MIDNIGHT if you don't slow down!" She cried out, gripping onto the other girl tighter. Claudine almost never let her graceful and classy exterior down but in this moment she could have swore she was a kid again, being scared of the simple things like riding a horse. She tried in her ways to bring any sense of her stubborn cockiness to the table but alas she failed, just closing her eyes and trying to forget the idea that she was literally on a horse going at mach speed towards a city she may have only been too as a small child.  
—  
The ride so far had been a bit on the quiet side, Claudine unable to start conversation as she was too enriched by the sights on the road that blurred past with the horses quick gallop. It had been only a couple hours and truly Claudine had only wanted to sleep, the lack there of what she had received last night slowly weighing her down. She knew though that there was literally no way of falling asleep on this horse.  
She decided that maybe somehow Maya would know anyway to get even a wink of sleep while on a speeding horse. "A strange question, but, if you were exhausted how would you sleep on a horse that you aren't controlling, not saying i am exhausted, just merely interested."  
The lengthy ride had also been wearing down on Maya as she already felt her legs and arms getting sore from the ride. The sudden break of silence from Claudine was a welcome change though from the sounds of wind and the horses hooves clattering against the road beneath. “Not dead yet are we,” Maya teased “to answer your question. Just try and relax a bit, you can’t expect to fall asleep when you’ve got me in this vice grip. If that doesn’t work we can always stop for a short rest.” Maya called the horse to a slower pace one that was more of a steady canter than a full on mach-speed gallop “Horse could probably use a rest and it won't hurt to take it a bit slower for now, so try and get some rest” She turned to look at Claudine over her shoulder offering the girl a warm smile.  
Claudine almost didn't trust her for a moment, somewhat scared that she'd loosen her grip and all of the sudden Maya would make them go flying again. Giving it a few moments and seeing no signs of speeding back up, Claudine did what she was told and finally loosened the grip on Maya just a little. "By the gods, please wake me up before you decide to pick up speed again, I'm not sure I'd like to fall off of this horse." She went quiet after this, seeing if she could even make an attempt to sleep by leaning most of her weight on Maya.

Claudine's eyes were drifting closed just as she was taken out of her daze yet again. She’d managed to start nodding off a couple of times, but the road's terrain was rough and seemed to be working against her. Each time she was about to slip into slumber a bump in the road was there waiting ready to wake her back up. With a groan she mumbled, "You better not want to do anything at midnight when we are in the city because I will leave you to it while I sleep the night away."  
Maya was almost certain at this point that the girl had fallen asleep, so upon hearing Claudine awake she was a little bit startled as well as surprised. "Still awake?" Maya asked, already knowing the answer. She led the horse to the side of the road then pulled the animal to a stop "Why don't we stop for a rest, I'm certain I have a bed roll and besides we'd need to stop soon anyways." without giving Claudine much of a say Maya got off the horse and tied it up to the nearest tree "You need help getting down?" she asked head turned towards the girl as she finished tying the rope. She approached the back of the horse where Claudine was sat.  
"I think I'll make it down just fine." She assumed this and of course as soon as she tried to get down she almost landed face first. Luckily, with all the grace in the world she had somehow managed to make it seem like she did it on purpose. " As stated, it seems that i'm okay."  
Allowing Claudine to get down on her own Maya stood aside and watched. With a slightly pained look on her face, it took everything within her not to bolt over and catch the other girl when she nearly fell on her face however she relaxed almost immediately when Claudine righted herself. Claudine was now looking for the bed roll and her only priority was getting at least an hour worth of sleep. Once she had found it she wasted no time unrolling it and laying right down on it.  
“You must be tired, dismounting a horse like that.” Maya commented as she removed her bag from the horse and came to sit down near where Claudine had started setting up her bed roll. "This is going to be the best rest of my life i think." She was almost already knocked out, ready to sink into slumber.  
“Best be, we still have about 16 hours of travel” Maya said before going silent, letting the girl rest and taking time to look around at their surroundings having not paid much attention till now she cursed under her breath immediately recognizing where they were. A bandit camp sat about thirty minutes off the road and she’d personally had near run-ins with the bastards, in short they were essentially sitting ducks. She waited till she was sure Claudine was asleep to pull out her weapons and start sharpening the edges on both of her daggers.

**Author's Note:**

> Info on some important Skyrim stuff:  
> https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Calendar  
> https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/The_Rift_(Skyrim)


End file.
